Arsenal Holding PLC Essay

This composition is a SWOT analysis of the company Arsenal Holding PLC; whose main product is the Famous English football club ARSENAL FC which is based in Holloway, London and is one of the most successful clubs in English football with thirteen first division titles and ten FA cups and also a record of the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight.( Wikipedia) What is SWOT? SWOT represents the output of a marketing audit analysis and is essentially the analysis of the environmental factors and the internal appraisal part of the marketing audit. It stands for Strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Assessment of this SWOT factors together with an evaluation of its implications is a key part of objective marketing planning.(G.Lanchester and L. Massingham (1996) It is also important to note that SWOT ANALYSIS should be ranked in other to emphasis the importance of each point. The company Arsenal holding plc is the parent company of Arsenal FC and operates as a non-quoted public limited company a variation from other clubs. Only 62,217 Arsenal shares have been issued and they aren’t traded on any public exchange apart from rather infrequently on Plus market ;a specialist market.A single share in Arsenal had a mid share price of  £10,250,which set the companies capitalisation value at approximately  £637.74m.(wikipedia). Its Business Most of its business activities evolve around the Arsenal FC brand which is globally known as a top football club which performs consistently at the highest level in England and Europe. Football being an internationally accepted sport with Europe being the center piece of this affection, it has been suggested that the English Premiership is arguably the most colourful and entertaining League in the world with a viewer following that could be estimated into hundreds of millions weekly and Arsenal would also arguably be elected as its most entertaining team with millions of fans world wide. This Financial wise interprets into a massive brand image and which would  brings cash flow from; image rights of its players and the club, income and earnings from trophy wins and participation in the league and European competitions, Sale of players, television rights, sales of club merchandise and collecting gate for home games. Strengths 1. A very strong globally known brand 2. Large global fan base 3. Large stadium 4. Lot of large corporations interest in brand 5. Location in England and London 6. A few big and expensive players 7. Great history 8. Interesting records and achievements 9. Loyal fans 10. Colourful football and brand colour 11. Effective management Weaknesses 1. Inability to win trophy 2. Inability to compete financially with the best in Europe 3. Inability to keep its best players 4. Inability to convince fans of interest in football success 5. To many inexperienced players in squad 6. Small football squad Opportunities 1. A lot of young potential talents in the squad 2. Recent penetration into Asian market 3. Emergence of FIFA fair play rule 4. Emergence of very defensive teams playing unattractive football 5. Growing English national’s membership in the squad 6. Increasing interest in the English premiership and the European champions league globally Threats 1. European crises 2. Emergence of clubs funded by oil barons 3. Increasing wage structures in the premiership 4. Increasing player valuation 5. Increasing cases of player disloyalty 6. Unhappy fans 7. Resurgence of Tottenham their London rivals 8. Chelsea’s champions league win Evaluation and analysis The SWOT analysis as seen above, appears to be highly invested in the activities of Arsenal FC, this is because the club is a business institution which has an annual financial statement and is run by its parent company Arsenal holdings, which makes the activities of the club and its environment worthy of note. The analysis evolves around the clubs past and present positions and performances; its strengths revolves around the brand and how established it is, pointing out the colourfulness of both the clubs chosen colours and style of football it represents. It also points at the size of its stadium which is regularly filled up and which amounts to large amount of tickets sold. Its weaknesses evolve around its current inability to win trophies and also current financial restrictions as opposed to its main competitors who have a lot more to spend Opportunities looks at its youth policy; a system where by they buy a player most times cheaply and groom him after a few years into an inter national star with the club as his stage. The result of this is that the player’s value increases immensely and with the current state of transfer developments, beyond proportion. It also looks at the fair play rule which if put into effect by UEFA,the body that governs football in Europe will stifle the current dominance of some of its competitors. The threats point at the current crisis in Europe as its most important highlight, as if there is no money there will no body to buy tickets or purchase the goods that the club brands. It also considers its competitors as a major threat, because of the seeming limitless wealth some of them posses. *Note Players leaving the club on the short term is not a danger as it brings about healthier balance sheets and bigger profits, as the players are sold for huge fees, but in the long term it affects the clubs image and reputation and cause an increase in fan disloyalty, so it should be seen as both a weakness and a threat. Conclusion From the SWOT you can conclude that the company has a high amount of strengths compared to the other categories, its weaknesses are quite a few but the man danger lies in its threats, with the key one of note being the crisis in Europe which is affecting all businesses in general, the other threats appear manageable when compared more of the same is advised to sustain the club. REFRENCE G.Lanchester and L. Massingham., Strategic Marketing planning and evaluation, (1996) www.wikepedia.com